Square COO Quit After Sex Harassment Accusation

After mysteriously quitting the prominent payments company it was discovered that Square's COO, Keith Rabois, is facing accusations of sexual harassment.

The chief operating
officer for mobile payments company Square, Keith Rabois,
abruptly resigned this week because an employee accused him of
sexual harassment and demanded "millions of dollars" to stave
off a potential lawsuit, Rabois said in a Friday blog post.

The revelation by Rabois, a well-known senior executive and
active startup investor, caused a sensation in Silicon Valley
and ignited a flurry of online chatter about Square, founded in
2009 by Twitter co-creator Jack Dorsey.

In a lengthy Tumblr blog post, Rabois said he had been
contacted by a New York attorney for his accuser, an
unidentified male with whom he had a relationship beginning in
2010. Rabois, who recommended the man for a position at Square,
said he was recently told his accuser would file a lawsuit
alleging that their relationship was not consensual, and that
Rabois did "horrible things," which Rabois did not spell out.

"I was told that only a payment of millions of dollars will
make this go away, and that my career, my reputation, and my
livelihood will be threatened if Square and I don't pay up,"
Rabois wrote.

"The relationship was welcome," Rabois wrote. "While I have
certainly made mistakes, this threat feels like a shakedown, and
I will defend myself to the full extent of the law."

A lawyer by training, Rabois detailed how he met his accuser
through mutual friends. Several months after the meeting and
after they had spent time together, Rabois said he recommended
his friend to the company, which hired him. It is unclear
whether the accuser still works at Square.

"I realize that continuing any physical relationship after
he began working at Square was poor judgment on my part," he
wrote, adding that the company did not know of the relationship
until the recent lawsuit threat.

Dorsey, who accepted Rabois' resignation late on Thursday,
declined to comment on Friday.

Attempts to reach Steve Berger, the lawyer representing the
unnamed accuser, on Friday were unsuccessful.